Failed Financing Plan Could Result In Ticket Hike At Rutgers
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Ticket Hike One Option Rutgers Considering
To Help Close Stadium Expansion Funding Gap |
An effort to bridge a $30M deficit in the financing of Rutgers Stadium "has all but collapsed," and Rutgers University (RU) officials are "now struggling to find ways to close the gap," according to Margolin & Sherman of the Newark STAR-LEDGER. RU officials in a confidential cost analysis "outlined an alternate plan that considers hikes in ticket prices and the diversion of millions in football stadium revenues to help pay for the controversial project." The "bigger impact on ticket prices envisions greatly expanding the seats covered by a so-called 'priority points' program that requires a minimum level of contributions to the university to qualify for the best seats near the 50-yard line." According to RU, 6,000 seats currently "require fans to accumulate priority points -- essentially a seat license -- that can amount to hundreds of dollars for the right to buy a season ticket." Under the plan presented to the RU BOG, "as many as 39,000 seats in the stadium would require priority points that would have fans make separate contribution commitments to the university, bringing in an estimated $2.5[M] in additional annual revenues."
COMING UP SHORT: BOG members said that two weeks ago, senior university officials, including AD Robert Mulcahy "briefed the Rutgers governing board behind closed doors on the status of the troubled fundraising campaign, laying out a blueprint that assumes private gifts totaling no more than $2[M]." Rutgers board member John Russo said that "the clock is running out because the university has a self-imposed deadline of Aug. 1 to determine whether it is feasible to go ahead with the full construction project or wait until Rutgers has more money available." The first phase, which will "add 1,000 premium seats in the mezzanine, is already under way." The "second -- and more expensive -- phase is supposed to add another 13,000 seats and is scheduled to be ready in time for the 2009 season." New Jersey state Sen. Raymond Lesniak "expressed doubts that any more than $10[M] could eventually be raised and acknowledged nowhere near that amount of money has been raised." Lesniak: "This was far more difficult than we could have thought. It really didn't get off the ground. It's just tough circumstances" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 7/27).
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